Guatemalan Worry Dolls

Worry dolls (also named trouble dolls; Spanish Muñeca quitapena) are very tiny, mostly hand-made dolls that originate from Guatemala.

According to the tradition of the Mayans from the Guatemalan highlands, when children are scared or have nightmares, they give them worry dolls before they go to sleep. Then, they put them under the pillow, and when they wake up, their worries are gone.

How to Use Worry Dolls

The idea of a worry doll is to help a person get rid of their worries before falling asleep. Worry dolls are most popular with children.

The person feeling any kind of mild anxiety holds a doll and tells the doll about one thing that is troubling. The troubling matter is transferred to the doll.

The doll may be placed under the pillow. Some prefer to place the doll in it’s special bag.

Finally the person can sleep tight knowing the worry has gone, the doll has taken care of the concern and will make it disappear.

If a person has more than one fear, more dolls are needed as each doll deals with one fear.

This claim is not absolute. Many do reuse their worry doll many times and tell all their troubles to that particular doll. They seem to have a special connection to their favorite doll.

Worry dolls are mostly used with kids. Many parents choose to remove the doll during the night. The child may then have “proof” that their worries are gone.

The intent of using the worry dolls is to help the child deal with their troubles by stating them out load and by showing they are willing to let go of their worries before going to sleep.

Children who have trouble sleeping because of some kind of imaginary fear (which is very real in their world) could possibly benefit from using worry dolls.

Each bag contains 6 of the 1/2 inch worry dolls and a copy of the legend.

Mayan Traditions – Guatemala – Is A Fair Trade Organization